For all those people who were disappointed (or relieved) by the last two sex-less episodes, don’t worry. Episode 4 of House of the Dragon more than makes up for it and leaves a hangover for the next couple of episodes. But unlike in Game of Thrones, the sex scenes actually forward the plot and development of character traits.
Rhaenyra is thoroughly bored of the suitor pageant she is on and when the first two candidates presented by Lord Boremund Baratheon are too old or too young and ends up with swords drawn (nice touch with the Blackwood-Bracken brawl, two houses who have hated each other for years), she decides to cut her tour short and return to King’s Landing.
Also returning to King’s Landing is Daemon Targaryen, wearing a crown and admitting that he was called the King of the Narrow Seas, only to hand his crown over to Viserys acknowledging that he was the true king. The brothers embrace, all is forgiven and Daemon, who was banished, is welcomed back.
Why is Daemon back? Is Daemon really going to support his brother? Or is he here to create more mischief? After a very intense conversation with Rhaenyra (that incest-y vibe is all over the place, what with the necklace and all), Daemon helps her disguise as a boy and leads her into the city to see the real world. Such a nice uncle! He buys her a beer, watches her wide-eyed wonder with indulgence and leads her into… a raging orgy at a “pleasure house”?! There are bodies writhing everywhere — men with women, men with men, women with women — and Rhaenyra is giddy with what she sees. And then Daemon and Rhaenyra kiss (what ‘ewww incest’?! As if you didn’t know that was coming). Then did some heavy making out. Before Daemon stopped and left. Guilty? Plagued by conscience? Why the heck did he take off the cap disguising her and the hood (that wasn’t doing a very good job of) disguising him? Was it in the moment or planned? How did neither of them think they could be recognised? Was the whole “almost sexcapade” a ploy?
Ugggggh! This is one of those times that the whole time jump thing undermines the show and its characters. We have spent so little time with Daemon that we have no idea about his motivations! But wait, we digress. There is more sex to come.
Sexually frustrated (obviously), Rhaenyra returns to the Red Keep and coaxes her loyal companion, Ser Criston Cole, to fulfill her needs. Daemon taught her a huge lesson — as the Queen she can take what she wants, she is the one with the power. She had the power to appoint Ser Criston as one of the Kingsguard, which includes a vow of chastity, but she also has the power to make him break his oath.
And while Rhaenyra and Cristan have sex for pleasure, Alicent is summoned late in the night to the King’s chamber where she proceeds to do her duty as the Queen and offer herself to her husband even as she lies there looking bored.
This why the sex in this episode, though plenty, is nowhere as cringeworthy as the sexual scenes in Game of Thrones. Here sex is about pleasure, definitely, but it also about politics. Sex to produce heirs, sex to discredit someone’s virtue, sex in the name of duty, sex for power.
Sex teaches Rhaenyra one more lesson — you reap what you sow. She pays for her moment of reaching for what she wanted (that being her uncle) when she is seen by a street urchin and the news reaches Otto Hightower, who takes it to the King. King Viserys is livid and kicks his hungover brother in the ribs, a brother who doesn’t deny the accusation of having sex with his niece. In fact, Daemon goes so far as to ask Viserys to let him marry Rhaenyra in the tradition of their family (seriously, the Targaryens are weird), only to be banished by his brother, again.
Viserys tells Rhaenyra that she will marry Corlys Velaryon’s son and do her duty but challenges him to weed out the man who is undermining his rule sitting right next to him — Otto Hightower. Viserys might have had his doubts — about his father’s death just five days after being named the Hand of the King, a title that went to Otto, about the fact that Alicent was conveniently available when he was grieving for his wife, about the fact that he might discredit Rhaenyra to put Aegon II on the throne. But being someone who doesn’t like confrontation, Viserys refused to see it. But see it he does and is decisive for once as he removes Otto from his position as the Hand.
Overall, a powerful episode with great performances by both Paddy Considine (Viserys) and Milly Alcock (Rhaenyra). The fourth episode packs the punch that the first three lacked and if the teaser for next week’s episode is anything to go by, the punches will be coming in swifter and surer. There seems to be a wedding coming up and we know how they tend to go in Westeros.
